Facebook to hit the two billion user mark in 2017

Facebook had 1.86 billion monthly active users as of the end of 2016, up from 1.79 billion the previous quarter and 1.59 billion a year earlier, the company said in its fourth-quarter earnings report

PTI

February 07, 2017, 09:16 IST

Updated: February 07, 2017, 10:17 IST

Popular social network Facebook is set to become the first 2 billion-user company this year, according to a media report which attributed its "impressive" user growth to "promotional data plans" from countries like India.

Facebook had 1.86 billion monthly active users as of the end of 2016, up from 1.79 billion the previous quarter and 1.59 billion a year earlier, the company said in its fourth quarter earnings report.

Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said Facebook added more users this quarter compared to a year earlier than any quarter since the company went public in 2012.

Facebook is on track to hit 2 billion users later this year, a major milestone that no other Internet company has reached, said Jan Dawson, chief analyst with Jackdaw Research, a technology research and advisory firm.

"Massive user growth year on year, and amazingly it's accelerating despite the massive existing scale. It's on track to become the first 2 billion-user company later this year," Dawson was quote as saying by 'USA Today'.

Facebook generated nearly $20 from each user in the US and Canada during the quarter, up from $13.70 a year earlier as it offers more lucrative video ads.

"Our business did well in 2016, but we have a lot of work ahead to help bring people together," Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.

The actual BBC story is headlined "School spending: Multi-billion pound cash boost announced," and instead puts the number at £7.1 billion, criticizing the government's use of £14 billion pound figure as not the usual way of calculating spending

The two e-commerce firms typically hold annual festive season sales ahead of Dussehra and Diwali, which are due this year in October, when Indians make big ticket purchases such as cars and gold jewellery